Citi Field Hosts Ecuador-Greece, Nearly 40K Fans In Soccer Debut
NEW YORK (WFAN/AP) — Citi Field was at near capacity on Tuesday. Fans in the stadium were going bananas.
And the Mets were out of town.
The occasion: Frickson Erazo scored on a header in the second half of the first soccer game at Citi Field as Ecuador rallied to tie -- and finish -- 1-1 against Greece.
The goals were set up at Citi Field along the third-base line and in right field.
The mound was covered.
The Mets said the attendance was 39,656, around 2,000 short of a sellout. And according to the New York Times, more soccer matches are coming to the stadium.
PHOTOS: Citi Field Prepared For Soccer
"Mets executive vice president Dave Howard said a friendly between a 'very well-known' European club and comparable Central American club was in the works for this summer," reported the paper. "He said an announcement was expected within the next week."
Erazo headed the cross from Edison Mendez at the 59th minute. Alexandros Tziolis headed a free kick at the 15th minute to score Greece's goal.
Ecuador is preparing for the Copa America in Argentina, where it has first-round matches Paraguay (July 3), Venezuela (July 9) and defending champion Brazil (July 13).
Will the Mets draw 40k in the near future? Sound off in the comments below...
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